Report: Fleeing driver dragged deputy inside mobile home park

Putnam County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a reported battery call at a mobile home park in East Palatka, according to a news release from the Putman County Sheriff's Office.

When the deputy arrived at the mobile home park he saw a Ford Escort being driven by a man. later identified as Lee Precious Jones, attempting to flee so the deputy ordered the driver to stop, the report states.

Jones stopped but did not turn off the ignition. When the deputy reached into the driver’s side window to turn it off, Jones stepped on the gas pedal, accelerating rapidly — with the deputy hanging onto the side of the vehicle, half in the car and half out, according to the report.

The deputy could not safely disengage himself for fear of falling underneath the moving car.

Just as Jones was about to exit the mobile home park, Sergeant Greg Lavoy arrived and saw the deputy being dragged by Jones’s car.

Sergeant Lavoy thought fast and used his patrol car to block the exit in an attempt to prevent Jones from reaching the roadway, with the deputy still clinging to the side of the car.

Just before the cars were about to collide into one another, the deputy was finally able to turn off the ignition and jump from the car, according to the release.

A woman, Michelle Lee King, was believed to be the victim of the battery which originally initiated the 911 call. However, when questioned, King refused to cooperate and would not identify herself.

Guess with all of the excitement, she must have forgotten to ditch her bag.

When asked if a black bag she was holding contained her ID, she said no and handed the bag to the deputy. Inside the bag the deputy found a needle and a pill bottle containing an oxycodone pill, the report states.